Authorities in Chatham County charged a Hope Mills woman on Tuesday after they say her four dogs attacked three people in Chatham County the day before.
According to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, four dogs attacked a woman and her son around 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Firefly Overlook housing development near Jordan Lake.
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Deputies said they found the woman with bites on her legs and left hand, while her son had multiple bites on his legs.
First Health EMS took both the woman and her son to WakeMed Hospital, where they received treatment for their injuries.
During their investigation, Chatham County authorities learned the dogs also attacked a 66-year-old man from Cary around 2 p.m. Monday. The man drove himself to urgent care and received treatment for his injuries.
Authorities charged the dogs' owner, 31-year-old Brittney Patrice Fountain, with four counts of animal cruelty, four counts of animal abandonment, one count of violation of rabies vaccination for a dog and numerous Chatham County ordinance violations.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies used “all less-than-lethal options” available and captured three of the four dogs. After deputies tried to capture the fourth dog on multiple occasions, a deputy shot and killed the dog.
Authorities took the surviving dogs to the Chatham Sheriff’s Animal Resource Center. Deputies say the dogs are on a 10-day hold for rabies observation.
The deceased dog will be tested for rabies at a state laboratory.
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